There is absolutely nothing better than plain shortbread, it can't be beat. You don't need a special pan to make it, any old round or square cakepan will do. I sometimes make lavender shortbread, which I like very much, and I have occasionally added a tiny bit of lemon peel, very finely grated, or nutmeg to the recipe. But I think the plain sort is still my very favorite. I have been playing around a bit with my new shortbread pan, which is divided into squares with embossed designs..
The pan came with a recipe not too different from my own. I examined it and decided that I should increase my quantities by half again, thereby making the recipe the same size as theirs, to fit and come out nicely. I tried this, and while the embossing was successful, I felt the cookies were a tad too thick. I did think that the thicker squares would be good for little individual dessert servings of berry shortcake-topped with fruit and whipped cream. They just were not crispy enough for the cookies I like best. Plus, they seemed too hearty to have casually, with a cup of tea. So today, I decided to try my original recipe, with the original quantities, to see if I could still unmold the fancy designs, only thinner. Along the way, I decided to throw in a few tablespoons of almond meal, left from another venture.
As recommended by the manufacturer, I sprayed the nonstick surface with canola oil. I preheated the oven to 350F, and mixed the following ingredients in my stand mixer- creaming the butter and sugar first:
cool, unsalted butter, cut in pieces 8 oz (1 stick)
superfine sugar 1/4 cup
unbleached all purpose flour 1 cup
rice flour (cornstarch may be substituted) 1/4 cup
salt 1/4 tsp
almond meal 2 tbsps
I dumped the sandy mixture into the pan, covered it with a sheet of plastic wrap, and using a pastry scraper, smoothed it out evenly , pressing down slightly. (This is a procedure I got from a Gale Gand book. Very nice- no fingerprints.) I then removed the plastic, and put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. If you are not using a special pan with embossed demarcations, you should divide your shortbread into squares before baking, by poking it with a fork, making dotted lines. After 15 minutes I took the pan out, tapped it lightly on the counter, turned it and cooked it 15 more minutes, until golden.(Check at 10 minutes)
I let the pan rest for 10 minutes, cooling. Then, I used a plastic knife (to save the nonstick surface) to separate the outside edges, and inverted the pan on a breadboard. While the shortbread was still warm, I used a sharp knife to divide the squares, and then transferred them, with spatula, to a rack, to finish cooling.
I'm tickled with these, and think they are sweet.
Those are beautiful. They look almost exactly like springerle. Shortbread tastes better, sure, but springerle will survive the apocalypse.
Posted by: anapestic | December 08, 2005 at 05:34 PM